Best Builds For A Solo Run

Highlights

• Frostbite is an overlooked option that can significantly damage bosses and increase overall damage received by 20%. Notable weapons and sorceries can enhance the power of Frost damage in Elden Ring.
• Dexterity builds offer fast attacks and low stamina requirements, making them effective in dealing powerful damage. While some weapons can be used in more powerful builds, Dex builds can still destroy bosses.
• Fire Faith builds combine Fire Damage with Faith, resulting in highly damaging weapons and spells that can severely harm bosses. Incantations that cause Blackflame buildup and powerful AoE spells are especially valuable in this build.

2022 was the year for FromSoftware and Elden Ring, with the game winning numerous awards at The Game Awards and cementing how popular Soulslike games can be. The upcoming expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, has left many fans excited, with Elden Ring’s producer stating development is going well.

Featuring a vast quantity of weapons, magic, abilities, and talismans, creating a build for Elden Ring can be extensive. While there aren’t any definitive worst builds, as many can work if created correctly, some of the best builds can shred through adversaries in a matter of seconds. While online multiplayer can be fun, especially with mods such as Seamless Co-op, Elden Ring is mainly a solo game, and having builds to reflect this can help with the many tough bosses.

8 Frostbite

Frost damage and Ghostflame AoE

• Notable Weapons: Death’s Poker, Darkmoon Greatsword, Dragonscale Blade, Royal Greatsword, Carian Glintstone Staff, Carian Regal Scepter
• Notable Sorceries: Adula’s Moonblade, Ranni’s Dark Moon, Glintstone Icecrag
• Notable Talismans: Stargazer Heirloom, Godfrey Icon, Graven Mass Talisman, Shard of Alexander, Marika’s Soreseal

Frostbite was introduced in Dark Souls 3 and remains an overlooked option. Building up Frost damage will take a chunk out of the HP of a boss and increase all damage they receive by 20%.

Dealing Frost damage with a weapon isn’t too strong of an option on its own, but becomes more powerful due to certain Ashes of War and Sorceries that apply Frostbite being some of the best in the game. A big reason why Frostbite is overlooked is that it cannot start building up again until the debuff has ended, unlike Bleed, which can be applied repeatedly.

7 Dexterity

Dex Builds go back to the Dark Souls days

• Notable Weapons: Uchigatana, Hand of Malenia, Godskin Peeler, Bloodhound’s Fang
• Notable Talismans: Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent’s Prosthesis, Radagon’s Soreseal

Dexterity has always been a mainstay of FromSoft’s games, with the Uchigatana being a familiar weapon to many players. With numerous weapons benefitting from this stat, Dexterity is known for fast attacks and low stamina requirements.

Dealing powerful damage in its own right, an issue with Dexterity is that most of its weapons can be used in more powerful builds, such as the Uchigatana proving to be incredibly strong in a Bleed build. However, Dexterity can still destroy bosses, even when using underrated weapons such as Daggers.

6 Fire Faith

Embody the Frenzied Flame

• Notable Weapons: Sword of Night and Flame, Godslayer’s Greatsword, Magma Blade, Giant’s Seal, Godslayer’s Seal, Frenzied Flame Seal
• Notable Incantations: Giantsflame Take Thee, Placidusax’s Ruin, Black Flame, Flame Fall upon Them
• Notable Talismans: Two Fingers Heirloom, Marika’s Soreseal, Flock’s Canvas Talisman, Shard of Alexander, Godfrey Icon, Fire Scorpion, Carian Filigreed Crest

Fire Damage mixed into a Faith build is extremely powerful due to highly-damaging weapons, Ashes of War, and Incantations.

Incantations that cause Blackflame buildup on a target are valuable as this applies a powerful debuff that can severely harm a boss. Other spells such as Giantsflame Take Thee and Flame, Fall Upon Them are strong due to the extreme damage and area of effect capabilities they possess, causing huge explosions that can take out many enemies at once.

5 Strength

One of the hardest builds to master, but also the most satisfying

• Notable Weapons: Giant-Crusher, Greatsword, Nightrider Glaive, Ruins Greatword, Prelate’s Inferno Crozier
• Notable Talismans: Great-Jar’s Arsenal, Radagon’s Soreseal, Starscourge Heirloom, Erdtree’s Favor, Claw Talisman

Strength has gained notoriety due to its ability to defeat a boss in one attack when designed correctly. Much like Dexterity, Strength has been a main build in FromSoft’s game for years, with a vast number of weapons that meet its needs.

Often seen as the most simple build to create, Strength doesn’t require any magic or special items, only needing the biggest weapon available to hit enemies with. While a Strength build is good for crowd control and dealing big damage with a single hit, getting the attack timing down – especially against fast enemies – can be challenging.

4 Spellblade

A Jack-of-all-trades build with high damage potential

• Notable Weapons: Moonveil, Wing of Astel, Carian Knight’s Sword, Sword of Night and Flame, Meteoric Ore Blade, Carian Glintstone Staff, Meteorite Staff
• Notable Sorceries: Carian Slicer, Comet, Carian Greatsword, Carian Piercer, Carian Phalanx, Night Comet, Collapsing Stars, Gravity Well, Great Glintstone Shard, Glintstone Cometshard
• Notable Talismans: Godfrey Icon, Marika’s Soreseal, Shard of Alexander, Graven-Mass Talisman, Stargazer Heirloom, Carian Filigreed Crest, Magic Scorpion Charm

The Spellblade build utilizes a combination of strong Ashes of War and powerful Sorceries to deal its damage. The best weapon option is the Moonveil katana, due to its incredibly damaging and poise-breaking Ash of War, fast attacks, and inherent Blood Loss application.

Using Gravity Sorceries that pull enemies closer can help with melee damage. Ranged magic can deal damage if a player wants to back away, and the Night Comet Sorcery will also offer reliable damage against any enemies that like to dodge other spells.

3 Blasphemous Blade

A build designed around Rykard’s boss weapon

• Weapons: Blasphemous Blade
• Talismans: Shard of Alexander, Fire Scorpion Charm, Carian Filigreed Crest, Taker’s Cameo, Ritual Sword Talisman, Ancestral Spirit’s Horn

This build is centered around the Blasphemous Blade, a weapon retrieved from the Remembrance of the Blasphemous dropped by Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.

This is an extremely strong build due to the high damage it can inflict, paired with the ability to heal when an enemy is attacked via the weapon’s Ash of War. Combine this with the correct Talismans, and using this build can keep a player alive almost indefinitely without using any healing items.

2 Bleed

The original Elden Ring meta build

• Weapons: Uchigatana, Rivers of Blood, Eleonara’s Poleblade, Reduvia, Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear, Bloody Helice
• Talismans: Lord of Blood’s Exultation, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent’s Prosthesis, Shard of Alexander, Carian Filigreed Crest, Marika’s Soreseal

While being a subsidiary of Arcane, Bleed builds have become their own build category. This is due to weapons that inflict Blood Loss being infinitely more powerful than other Arcane armaments that do not.

Also known as Blood Loss or Hemorrhage, a Bleed build is one of the most destructive builds available as it immediately takes a chunk out of an enemy’s health once it has been applied enough. Blood Loss applies every time an enemy takes damage from a Bleed weapon, and possesses no cooldown, unlike Frostbite.

1 Pure Intelligence

A true magic build

• Weapons: Glinstone Staff, Carian Regal Scepter, Meteorite Staff, Prince of Death’s Staff, Mooveil, Darkmoon Greatsword, Wing of Astel, Carian Knight Sword
• Sorceries: Comet Azur, Cannon of Haima, Comet, Meteorite of Astel, Ranni’s Dark Moon, Rennala’s Full Moon, Terra Magica,
• Talismans: Cerulean Amber Medallion, Marika’s Soreseal, Stargazer Heirloom, Graven-Mass Talisman, Moon of Nokstella, Godfrey Icon, Magic Scorpion Charm

Intelligence in Elden Ring is ridiculously overpowered, using numerous staves and weapons to deal massive damage. Sorceries such as Comet Azur and Meteorite of Astel are some of the game’s most damaging spells, dealing incredible harm to obliterate any enemies.

The moist important part of this build is to create a suitable Flask of Wonderous Physick. Using the Cerulean Hidden Tear will negate all FP requirements, allowing spells such as Comet Azur to be cast for a absurdly long time. Additionally, the Intelligence-knot Crystal Tear can be added to boost Intelligence, or the Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear can be used to deal extra magic damage, which only amplify this already powerful setup.